


mythology

by stannide



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Arthurian, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 01:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2713316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stannide/pseuds/stannide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A knight returns from battle to be reunited with her queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	mythology

**Author's Note:**

> for [sakuhina week 2014](http://sakuhinaweek.tumblr.com/post/100937843640/hey-everyone-so-this-is-it-the-official-week), _mythology_.

Sir Sakura falls to one knee before her king and queen.   
  
"And what have you to report to me, sir?" King Toneri prompts, his voice like poisoned honey.

"Victory in battle, Your Majesty."

A chorus of cheers erupts from all around the Great Hall, courtiers and servants alike rejoicing at the fall of the foe. Sakura’s charisma no doubt lends to the appeal of the militia’s campaign. The knight’s carriage brims with an authority befitting her station as the foremost Knight of the Round.

"After their banners fell, we chased the last of their men well into the hinterlands. They dispersed at the border, into the thick of the forest, where we could not follow."  
  
"How many?"  
  
"No more than a score," she says. "Nay, less than half that. However, Your Majesty," and here Sakura bends further, a graceful arc of her back that promises both strength and submission, "despite this victory, I urge that we do not rest on our laurels. Even less than a score may grow to legions, given the time to regroup."  
  
"You speak wisely, sir." But Toneri is high on the thrill of his own power.  In the face of his growing megalomania, the victorious conquest is no more than a testament to his unquestioned authority.  Sakura can taste the bile of his arrogant dismissal.  "We will certainly take into account such repercussions in the next war council. For now—"  
  
The king rises, his arms spread wide.  
  
"—we  _feast!_ ”

The crowd once more bursts into thunderous assent. Sakura keeps her head hung low.  
  
"I trust, my dear knight," Toneri continues as the crowd’s fervour weakens, "we will see you rejoin the Queensguard while you are not afield?"  
  
It is only then that Sakura allows her eyes to drift to the woman at the king’s side. Even seated and silent, Her Majesty is a stately woman. The many layers of her court clothes cannot hide the fineness of her form. Silken strands are pulled into an intricate arrangement, revealing a face with the aristocratic features characteristic of the Hyuuga lineage. Her pale eyes, like ivory, seem to bore into the very essence of Sakura.  
  
As courtesy dictates, she rises to stand before her queen. Queen Hinata offers her hand. Bowing low, Sakura kisses the air above the queen’s knuckles.  
  
"It would be an honour," she says, "to serve the queen of my liege lord."

.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Later, as the festivities come to an end, Sakura accompanies the queen and her entourage of ladies-in-waiting back to the queen’s chambers.   
  
"I should be well in the company of our esteemed knight," Hinata tells the ladies, sinking into the seat of her dresser.  
  
Well-trained, the ladies at once fall into graceful curtsies. “Should Her Majesty require anything,” one them says, “she need only call upon us.” One by one, the ladies take their leave. When the last of them is out, a page silently shuts the door.  
  
It is only the queen and her knight now.  
  
"The truth of your success, sir," Hinata says.  She turns her gaze to the mirror, carefully removing the jewels that adorn her neck.  Her fingers are trembling.  
  
"Your cousin was among the survivors who absconded," Sakura says, stepping closer.  Her voice is as reassuring as she can make it.  "Your plan worked marvellously, Your Majesty. Sir Neji has enough information on King Toneri’s militia to last him a thousand battles. An uprising is well in hand."  
  
Hinata exhales, her eyes falling shut. “Finally, my kingdom’s vengeance is dawning.”  
  
"I have no doubt you will be returned to your people before the next summer."  
  
"All the better to see the sun." Hinata is smiling. Sakura’s gaze explores the duskiness of Hinata’s lashes where they rest upon her cheeks. No doubt, Sakura thinks, behind her eyes the queen can see the vast fields and untouched forests of her true home.   
  
"Please know that I am grateful for your service, Sir Sakura. My kingdom and my people are in your debt."  
  
Sakura removes the glove of her right hand, raising her knuckles to queen’s exposed shoulder. Gently, she traces the slope of the queen’s clavicle. The proud arch of her neck.  
  
"I do not do this for your kingdom. Nor do I do it for your people."  
  
The queen’s eyes open, meeting the green of Sakura’s gaze in the mirror. Sakura does not break the contact of their eyes, even as she bows down to grace the queen’s neck with a lingering kiss. “Hinata,” she breathes.  
  
Hinata raises her hands to Sakura’s hair, slender fingers winding easily through the pink strands, pulling the knight down for a kiss. It is chaste, reverent.  
  
"Sakura…" The knight’s hands slide down to the laces of the queen’s dress. "I have missed you."  
  
"And I am wretched without you." Sakura exhales shakily as her fingers at last find the bare skin of her queen’s back. She traces Hinata’s spine with a tenderness that belies her impatience. "Please," she presses another kiss (this time urgent, this time desperate) to Hinata’s lips, "I need you."  
  
Hinata rises and turns, her dress gaping further open as she does so. Sakura finds she cannot breathe.  
  
"Come," Hinata says, tracing her lover’s lips with her fingers, "or have you already forgotten the way to my bed?"


End file.
